On Recipes: Oatmeal Smoothie

Here I will review a recipe by my good friend, Martha.

Stewart, that is.

Now regardless of the fact that she did a brief stint in jail, I think we can all agree that Martha Stewart still has something to share. Granted, we may not trust her with our investments portfolio... but when it comes to whipping up a table spread or pumpkin pie, Martha is still golden.

You know what else is golden? This recipe. I'll tell you why: because there's literally NO technique needed to make a smoothie. You just dump it in the blender and let the magic happen. This recipe also rocks because the oatmeal really adds that extra UMPH that I need in the morning and the extra fiber keeps my stomach from growling by 9AM.

My recipe (which of course differs a bit from Martha's because I can't follow directions) is as follows:

1 handful of ice
1 handful of frozen blueberries
1 scoop of Greek Yogurt
1 small banana
1/2 c. (ish) of old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tbsp honey
a splash (or two) of milk

"Handful" is a measurement that I made up. The way you measure a handful of ice, for instance, is to stick your hand in the ice maker and grab a bunch of ice cubes. A handful of ice is a lot easier for me to understand than 1 cup of ice. As I said before, smoothies are not an exact science.

I also used Greek yogurt, just because I like Greek yogurt. It has a lot of protein and I try to substitute it wherever I can for the regular stuff. It's also thicker than regular yogurt so adjust the milk (or other liquid) accordingly if you decide to go Greek.

Finally, I decided to use blueberries instead of raspberries. I love blueberries. They're full of antioxidants. Enough said.

The only other thing I need to say is MAKE THIS. It was delicious, quick and satisfying.

Thanks, Martha.

Martha's Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe

On Parenting

You may ask: Dear 20-something girl, how do you plan to write a post on parenting when you yourself have no children?"

Have no fear readers! I do not pretend to be a parenting expert. In fact, children frighten me to some extent and I'm not sure if I have a very strong maternal instinct. In any case, The Lieutenant and I are planning to wait for at least several decades before starting a family.

However even having no children of my own, I have had numerous encounters with other people's children. On a daily basis, even. As I've mentioned before, I work in university housing where (perhaps surprisingly to you) I regularly deal with parents. Specifically the helicopter parents. These well-meaning mothers and fathers are always swooping in to rescue their adult-child from one thing or another. Parents call our office to deal with their child's delinquent payments. They call to inform us that their child is being "bullied" and insist that they be placed with different roommates. They call to complain about the size of their child's room... You get my drift.

Not too long ago, I came across this article from The Atlantic Magazine and thought it was extremely interesting that it addressed almost this exact issue.

"...college deans have reported receiving growing numbers of incoming freshmen they’ve dubbed “teacups” because they’re so fragile that they break down anytime things don’t go their way. “Well-intentioned parents have been metabolizing their anxiety for them their entire childhoods,” Mogel said of these kids, “so they don’t know how to deal with it when they grow up” (Gottlieb)

The articles goes on to explain how in an attempt to make children feel safe and secure, many parents rob their children of the ability to mediate conflict and deal with common disappointment. By attempting to protect them from everything, they ultimately leave them unable to protect themselves.

It's a good read.
For the entire article, click here

On Recipes: Jalapeno Popper Dip

Today I am reviewing a recipe from my fellow blogger, Kevin of Closet Cooking. I chose this recipe because:

1. I enjoy reading Kevin's blog and can appreciate the challenge of cooking in a small space as I myself have lived in a few shoe-box sized apartments.
2. It is football season, which leads me to search out new recipes for what I call "kick-off food" (a not-so-nutritious but nevertheless tasty genre of cuisine)
3. The Lieutenant is inexplicably drawn to any dish that includes jalapenos, so I surmised that this recipe could not fail.

And now, on to the food:

This dip was everything that I thought it would be. It was spicy, creamy and just the right amount of h-o-t. I halved the recipe since I was not cooking for a crowd, however I could see this being a big hit at a party so if you're feeding more than two I would suggest sticking with the original recipe (you may even want to double it if your friends are really hungry). 

I made some slight adjustments to the recipe, some out of necessity and some because I am a terrible listener and do not know how to 100% follow directions

• I used only half of the fresh jalapeno that was called for (since I halved the recipe, that would be 1/2 of a pepper). I also removed the seeds and ribs, which is where most of the INTENSE heat is located. It is not noted in the original recipe whether Kevin of Closet Cooking did this... so I am not sure if he is a super-spicy maniac or if he left this step out.
• I left out the Parmesan Cheese. This gave the dish a creamier texture and it was still plenty cheesy.
• I used Extra Sharp Cheddar instead of regular Cheddar. Sharp Cheddar has an awesome flavor and I prefer it over regular Cheddar cheeses. I think it should be noted here that there is really no need to buy Cheddar cheese that is orange. Orange cheeses are colored by food dye. Go for the naturally white stuff- it's better for you. 
• I used Neufchâtel cheese in place of Cream Cheese. This is a learned behavior. Growing up, my mother always used this substitution to cut down on fat in dishes. I admit, it's not always a straight swap. In some dishes the flavor is compromised by not using the full fat Cream Cheese. In this dip, however, I think the Neufchâtel was a good substitute. The cheese and the mayonase lent a lot of flavor and the Cream Cheese was not missed. 
• I omitted the Panko bread crumb topping. This was a swap made from necessity. I was planning to do a substitution with regular bread-crumbs since that's what I generally have in my pantry. Alas, when I checked my stores, there were no bread-crumbs of any kind to be found so I settled for a cheese topping which I added during the last 5 minutes of cooking and popped under the broiler. I can see where the bread-crumb topping would add a little extra something though, so if you have the bread crumbs (Panko or otherwise) I would do it!

All in all, this recipe was a WIN. I plan to make it for The Lieutenant soon. Doubtless it will have him eating out of the palm of my hand in no time... at which point I will promptly ask if we can get a puppy. 

For the entire recipe click here!

Pictures borrowed from www.closetcooking.com